The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert novel Chapter 30

30. Missed Chances

!

Elene had an aghast look on her face, and Savannah knew she was really in trouble now. So, the only thing she was considering now was how to proceed with all this. Should she just break that neck and be done with it? Kai would understand if she explained it to him later. Or so she thought… Would he really understand? After all, although the attraction was undeniable, they still didn’t know each other too well. They planned to learn everything, but they weren’t there now. Would it truly be okay to dispose of her mate? And here of all the places…

“Savvy!” Zack gurgled, and she wanted to slam him into the wall.

“Say…” She at least wanted to get the rejection accepted, while Zack’s face was already crimson red. He owed her that much.

“Put him down!” Elene growled, and for the first time since she came here, she felt a wave of power coming from the Northern Princess, which surprised her more than it should have. After all, Elene was a royal Lycan as well, and that came with some perks.

However, she was still undecided about what to do. Knowing Zack, he could run away fast, and she would spend months again trying to hunt him. Without their stupid bond, she would be free. She could be free now, and then maybe Kai and she could …

“If you kill him, you will hurt kai and the Northern Lycan Kingdom,” Elene crossed her hands on her chest and watched the scene unfolding before her. This was something new, and Savannah felt like it was some kind of a test.

“Or I will do them a service,” Savvy slowly moved her eyes from Zack to the Northern Princess

“He is here on a diplomatic mission. If he ends up dead, all Kai’s efforts will go in vain.”

Her mate desperately tried to release himself from her grasp, and, rolling her eyes, Savvy released her grip on his neck. Morgan collapsed to the floor and gulped for air a few times in some sort of panic until he was able to steady his breathing.

Savannah looked down on him. Every physical attraction for him was blurred out now. She just wanted him gone from her life. Out for good. She contemplated whether to tell the King’s sister who that pathetic man was to her. Zack would definitely mention it somewhere. In all honesty, he could do that now to try and ruin things for her. So, it was best to get it off her chest. She would prefer to tell Kai first. Herself. But the situation called for action.

“He is my….” She started speaking, but Elene waved her off.

“I know very well that he is the traitor of the West,” the Princess snapped. “It’s not an excuse. You want to be the Queen here. You should know better. We have to deal with people we don’t like all the time.”

“And you are setting just a great example there,” Savannah scoffed, and Elene wanted to reply something, but at the last moment, the door that led to the main hall opened, and Astrid’s head poked in

“Oh, I am sorry to disturb you,” she giggled innocently. “Princess Elene, everything is ready, and everyone is looking for you.”

“Very well,” the youngest Fionnlagh responded lightly as if nothing happened here. “Let’s go, ladies. Alpha Morgan, you can join us or retreat to the room we provided for you.”

“I wouldn’t miss an event like this for the world!” Zack chuckled, adjusting his suit jacket. And Savvy thought that she should have killed him after all. The smug smile on his face told her everything went just the way he wanted…

***

All the twelve Luna Trial contenders were standing in two rows on the stairs in their beautiful sparkling gowns. Each looked like a queen already.

And also there was Petra.

Elene was checking her notes with Chloe and Claude, who were nodding in unison each time she spoke. Savannah tried to listen to them, but the buzz of the rest of the guests was making it impossible to decipher words.

“And I thought everything was ready!” she shorted and shot a quick look at Astrid, who stood behind her. A little smirk formed on the Southerner’s face.

“I just thought you needed a little help there,” she whispered, and Savvy nodded. This was nice of her, considering she was very close to getting rid of a contender.

“Can you believe she is wearing this?” Inga snickered, glancing quickly at Petra in ruffles and with Kyle’s tie as a belt. For some reason, the other Northerners didn’t like the pink-haired she-wolf much, and Savannah noticed how Petra lowered her head as if she was already defeated

“Don’t!” she took her hand at once and gave it a light, reassuring squeeze. “Someone like you would look amazing wearing anything. You came here to fight for the position of a Luna. A true Luna always holds her head high and owns her choices. Just consider it another test.”

“Penelope said it would be a great outfit for the interviews,” Petra said quietly, and Savvy gave her palm an extra squeeze.

“And now you know who not to listen to,” Naya snorted as she stood on the other side of Petra.

“Just turn it to your advantage now,” Brigit said without looking at them. “It is a gorgeous outfit, whatever everyone else thinks. Things like this will make you stand out among other women. It’s a trick we always used at….”

She stopped talking, realising she had already shared too much, but Savvy knew she meant the harem where Brigit spent years fighting for the attention of the Fox King Castiel Armstrong. Now that she was thinking about it, Brigit was his favourite for a long time, and only his obsession with Savvy’s sister-in-law put an end to this. However, the white bear knew very well how to stand out among many beautiful girls. She did that during the Riddle challenge when she went ahead of her turn. But later, she was quiet, which wasn’t how Riannon spoke of her at all. According to her, Brigit was a leader in nature.

“Where?” Petra wanted more of Brigit’s story, but the woman in question only pressed her Tips tighter together.

“In her old pack,” Savannah smiled and let do of Petra’s hand as Elene was already walking in their direction.

The music died down, and so did the chatter of the guests. All the attention was now on the Northern Princess. She had a tablet in her hands and a gracious smile was curling her lips. Someone’s eyes gleamed in the crowd, and Savvy knew without looking it was Zack. He was watching her even now when his best course of action should be to run as fast as he could.

“We use several aspects to judge the interviews,” Elene announced with a smile. “The content of answers matters the most, but we also look at the body language and tone, confidence and attitude, consistency of a contender and last, but not least, appearance. After all, we are choosing the Luna of the North, and our land deserves the best.”

She took a significant pause, looking around the hall and pretending to ignore the

cameras.

“Without any doubt, our main winner tonight is none other than the daughter of the North Penelope Summerstern! She received thirty points for her interview and her final score at the moment is forty points.” A round of applause emerged as Penelope stepped forward, bowed and then moved to the higher level of the stairs. The contenders moving forward had to stand above the ones who didn’t.

“The next contender had a slightly less impressive score, but her overall score is now the same as Penelope’s,” Elene said calmly. “Savannah Stormhold receives twenty points and has forty points overall.”

Savvy gasped uncontrollably. She was astonished by the fact that she scored this high. She was sure that Elene and the twins would give her the lowest possible points.

“Go!” Astrid whispered to her, and Naya nudged her gently. Savannah placed her hand to her heart with a smile on her lips as if she wanted to thank everyone present and then joined Penelope at the top.